Generally, I’m not one for the big issues: I prefer to test my philosophy and my psychological strategies in the humdrum of daily life. But it is easy to have big, clear thoughts when you’re on holiday and away from all this.
On our previous trip abroad, in Sicily, G- and I had spent time discussing Happiness, the book by Richard Layard which I believe I’ve mentioned before on this blog.
Happiness is the coming thing – there is a whole new science developing, apparently. It’s key principles seem rational enough and for a while I was something of a convert. However, in hindsight, there was always something nagging away at me about it.
On our most recent family holiday abroad, in Menorca, I came to the conclusion that happiness is too much of an outcome. You can’t guarantee outcomes in human reality: we’re too instinctive, too passionate, too driven by our emotions. Happiness simply can’t be obtained by everybody. There are always winners and losers, and like its guiding principle or philosophy, utilitarianism, happiness lies open to the tyranny of the majority.
Having said that, Layard does spend quite some time discussing the importance of morality to happiness. Morality is not something we as a society are overly familiar or particularly comfortable with. Perhaps it’s time we lost our inhibitions about the subject.
In Menorca I spent some time pondering the concept of eudaimonia. It’s a classical Greek word, which can be crudely translated as the happiness that results from attempting to live a virtuous life.
Virtue was a much more complex subject for the Greeks than it seems to be for us, and it had a great deal of relevance to all areas of human learning and action.
Actually, the best translation of the word eudaimonia I’ve come across is: ‘human flourishing’. What a wonderful description of a process [rather than a goal] that we could and perhaps should strive toward. You can imagine a society that truly encouraged its citizens to flourish in pursuing virtuous endeavours as being rather happier than the one we have now.
Or, on a smaller scale [and thinking just as a parent], what better ambition for your child or children?
You may think I’m being hopelessly idealistic. Well, I did say I was on holiday!
